This popular series reverses the trend we saw in the sixties with kids playing grownup roles. Here, we have 30-somethings playing teenagers, a gang (in the old sense) of kids from New York City. The gags are the usual, the stereotypes as well. Its only value is in how it deepens the stereotypes.
I keep coming back to this film because it seems to have been one of a group, inspiring much of what we have today, from Scooby-doo to Ghostbusters.
We have goofy pest exterminators who encounter ghosts; the ghosts turn out to be evil scientists trying to preserve seclusion for their experiments. I may have seen a dozen of these, all with the same scenes: revolving walls, graves that are secret stairways, television and or hidden microphones. A standard gag missing here is the guy who snags a skeleton that then chases him.
What is surprising is that they worked in the gorilla. For some reason, gorillas frequently appear in this subgenre. The mix of discovered ghosts, mad scientists and escaped gorillas is so unlikely it astounds. But it is so common, you have to sit down and wonder why.
Ghosts and science is easy. Popular entertainment has only two kinds of scientists. One smokes a pipe and there to provide background on the science, for instance explaining why giant ants are attacking. The other is a madman, going against nature in ventures into the dark side. That "dark side" is conflated with the world of spiritualism, a relatively recent invention. Spiritualism was characterized by supposed real ghosts and clearly exposed charlatans. The devices these fakers used (mostly architectural) became permanently glued to spookiness in movieland.
But why gorillas? Because "King Kong" worked and by this time had scared the poo out of a sizable percentage of viewers. Because it referenced the other dark, spooky side: sex. Here this is underscored by the otherwise unnecessary character of Gabe who brings home a sexy French babe to be threatened by the three unknowns.
Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.
I keep coming back to this film because it seems to have been one of a group, inspiring much of what we have today, from Scooby-doo to Ghostbusters.
We have goofy pest exterminators who encounter ghosts; the ghosts turn out to be evil scientists trying to preserve seclusion for their experiments. I may have seen a dozen of these, all with the same scenes: revolving walls, graves that are secret stairways, television and or hidden microphones. A standard gag missing here is the guy who snags a skeleton that then chases him.
What is surprising is that they worked in the gorilla. For some reason, gorillas frequently appear in this subgenre. The mix of discovered ghosts, mad scientists and escaped gorillas is so unlikely it astounds. But it is so common, you have to sit down and wonder why.
Ghosts and science is easy. Popular entertainment has only two kinds of scientists. One smokes a pipe and there to provide background on the science, for instance explaining why giant ants are attacking. The other is a madman, going against nature in ventures into the dark side. That "dark side" is conflated with the world of spiritualism, a relatively recent invention. Spiritualism was characterized by supposed real ghosts and clearly exposed charlatans. The devices these fakers used (mostly architectural) became permanently glued to spookiness in movieland.
But why gorillas? Because "King Kong" worked and by this time had scared the poo out of a sizable percentage of viewers. Because it referenced the other dark, spooky side: sex. Here this is underscored by the otherwise unnecessary character of Gabe who brings home a sexy French babe to be threatened by the three unknowns.
Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.